Students of the French department at First Baptist School ponder some of the weird, lofty, intriguing, and revolutionary aspects of French culture.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Barricades de la Révolution Française

Barricades were first implemented in Paris, of course, when
Parisians rebelled against King Henry III in 1588 on the Day of the Barricades. The
people littered the streets with so much debris that the king’s troops could
not march to their destination. The debris’ intended purpose was to mock the
king by trashing the streets, but it served as a military device hindering
troops from reaching their positions quickly.

Since that day, the knowledge and success of barricades
spread throughout France and the rest of Europe. Barricades were the popular
tool used by the revolting peasants The peasants would gather anything they
could find to construct these big impediments. They would throw chairs, tables,
doors, etc. into a huge pile creating a big obstruction that would force troops
to find another way to march to their destination or be forced to spend days
deconstructing it. Either way, barricades resulted in delaying troops from
reaching their target. Barricades would never completely prevent troops from
advancing but they would deferral the troops so that the rebels could regroup
and plan an attack.

Barricades had a deeper meaning in revolutions like the
French Revolution in Les Misérables. In these battles, they represent all the
peasants have is being used to revolt against the king. The peasants and lower
class are so opposed to the king that they would use literally everything they
own to get rid of him. The barricade in Les Mis is a prime example of that
fact. All the people’s belongings went into making that barricade. They didn’t
care what happened to their stuff as long as the king was overthrown. They were
so intent on getting rid on the king they would do anything like throw away all
their possessions.

In modern day warfare, barricades are not used very much. As
war progressed and evolved, trenches replaced barricades because they
accomplished the task of impeding troops without all the raw materials.
Basically, all trenches required were shovels. In this day and age of
technology, wars are fought over long distances through missiles and aerial
assaults, with no need for barricades.